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He was the eldest son of Alexander I Of Georgia by his first wife Dulandukht. In the last years of his father’s reign, Vakhtang and his brothers – Demetre and George – were appointed co-rulers by Alexander. When the latter abdicated and became a monk in 1442, Vakhtang assumed the title of king of Georgia, and granted several provinces to his younger brothers, who governed them as his vassal co-kings. However, Vakhtang's power was rather weak and the kingdom was at the edge of the final fragmentation, torn apart by the rivalry among the nobles and suffering from the after-effects of Timur 's eight devastative invasions.

Vakhtang's reign was marked by the second attack by the Turkoman prince Jahan Shah of the Kara Koyunlu . Vakhtang met him at Akhaltsikhe in southern Georgia, but a fierce fight did not reveal a victor. In the night, Jahan Shah left the battlefield and returned to Tabriz .

He died after a reign of four years, without issue, and was succeeded by his brother George VIII .


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